No action on School Board
By Elliott Robinson
Aug 13, 2010, 09:15
Hopewell is one of 22 localities in the state with an appointed school board and it will most likely stay that way.
After a public hearing at Tuesday's City Council meeting, no action was taken to increase the membership from five members to seven and to have those members elected by ward. This issue also appeared in 2008 and was subsequently denied.
In total, only six people spoke about the proposed changes and all were in opposition.
"I think five members is good for our size," said Elliot Eliades.
Janice Denton questioned why the issue came before City Council again. "I wonder what has changed in two years," she said. "The citizens said no."
Ward 4 Councilor Gerald Stokes said he wanted to give citizens interested in the options the opportunity to sound off.
As no proper motions were raised or seconded, nothing was changed.
Another proposal that died from lack for a motion from City Council was the proposal to set term limits for certain boards and commissions. Several members of the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals spoke in opposition to the change, they cited the amount for training required by law to hold those roles necessitated remaining on those two entities for more than two terms.
"I know that we need new people to come in," Fred Morene said."You have to an investment when you train people."
Others who spoke in opposition noted that board and commission members serve at the pleasure of City Council and, if there are ample people in the talent bank, changes could be made as needed.
What was approved was a proposal to move all council elections to November, beginning with the 2012 election. The State Board of Elections has indicated that it would no longer fund May elections in Virginia and most localities are switching to November elections. Councilors also said another added benefit of the change is larger voter turnout.
This resolution requires a change in the city's charter and will be sent to the General Assembly for approval. If the General Assembly approves the change, the councilors whose terms would otherwise expire June 30, 2012 would have their terms extended to Dec. 31, 2012.
